When Drew Barrymore’s production company, Flower Films, heard about the script for 50 First Dates, they were immediately interested in it. “Drew and I had stumbled upon the script several years ago,” recalls producer Nancy Juvonen. “When we found out that Adam Sandler’s company, Happy Madison, was going to make it we began a campaign to become involved. We had a wonderful time working with them during The Wedding Singer, and over the years we had grown to know each other as friends, so we practically stalked them until they invited us to come and play with them.”
All the elements for a great romantic comedy were there, Juvonen continues. “This was too good a story to not be involved in. The role of Lucy calls for someone to fall in love all over again every single day, and Drew, who falls in love more passionately than anyone I know on the planet, was a perfect fit. And who better to fall in love with than Adam Sandler? He’s got such an easy charm. He’s funny, easy-going, laid back. He knows how to use his wit to make you laugh and there is something charming and sexy about that. When Drew responds to somebody, you can see it. She has passion in her eyes.”
The decision to reteam with Sandler was an easy one for Barrymore, who says she had the “best time of my life doing The Wedding Singer. When I’m having a hard day or need to escape outside of my brain,” says the actress, “there are certain types of films that make me feel happy. They are like medicine. To me, Adam’s films are like a beautiful medicine. I believed with all my heart that we were supposed to make this film. I believe in fate and destiny, but I also feel that you have to gently push things through the channels of the universe. So when I ran into Jack Giarraputo at a party, I mentioned to him how much Nan and I loved this story and then I sat down and wrote Adam a letter.”
What enticed Barrymore about the script was the underlying theme behind its premise, she says. “I thought that a story about a man who has to make his girl fall in love with him every day as if each day is new because in her world it is was the best thing I’d ever heard of. I just love the idea of someone trying to make somebody fall in love with you every day. I think that should always be a goal. It’s a beautiful practice and a beautiful message.”
“Sometimes Henry misses and sometimes he hits but I think a person’s determination is one of his most underrated qualities. It’s what enables Henry to grow.”
Adds Giarraputo, "Adam liked the fact that Henry is a character who becomes a good guy rather than just being a good guy all the time. You start out with someone who is like a revolving door with women. Then he meets this wonderful girl that he likes very much only to discover that there's a fatal flaw."
It was Happy Madison that brought Peter Segal into the mix. Says Segal, “I had just spent a year and a half with Adam on Anger Management, and we had a blast. We were deep into post-production when he asked me if I would do this movie and I jumped at the chance. Making a film is a little like going to war. You become closer because movies are physically tough and it takes incredible endurance to live through months of 14 to 16 hour days. In the end you become comrades. So it’s nice to keep the family together."
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